More on Attorneys fees
In Anchondo, the Tenth Circuit discusses the ins and outs of attorneys fees applications and objections. The plaintiff was successful in getting a class action settlement for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and then was awarded fees on top of that. The defendant thought the fee award was too high -- Plaintiffs counsel was apparently awarded all their hours at a set hourly rate. But the trial court is in the best position to determine whether the tasks billed for were necessary, and the trial court need not address all factors in making a fee award. Further, while certain travel hours could have been discounted, the defendant did not ask that the hours be discounted -- so the court wouldn't do it now on appeal. And, the court remanded the case to the trial court to award appellate attorneys fees.
Here the court refused to find that just because there were multiple firms that the time should be discounted. Apparently, the time records were clear and concise, and the conferences between the two firms was not excessive. There was not much duplicative work. The court indicated it might have considered reducing the hourly rate for travel, but it wasn't argued. Defendants were placed in the position of arguing its position was so bad, anyone could have handled the case, there was no need for experienced national counsel to become involved. The Tenth Circuit declined to adopt this view of the case.
